Billionaire conservative icon David Koch has died at age 79, CBS News reports.
“The New York resident was suffering from deteriorating health as of late, according to a letter Koch’s older brother Charles Koch sent to company officials last summer.”
Christie Creates Think Tank Centered on Civility
Former Gov. Chris Christie (R), “who built a political brand around unfiltered frank talk aimed at political opponents and constituents alike, is starting a think tank centered on something unexpected: Civility in politics,” WNYC reports.
Said Chrisite: “Unfortunately our politics have gotten so ugly and divisive in the country that people are not having civilized conversations.”
NRA Discussed Buying Mansion for Its Chief Executive
“Documents indicate that the National Rifle Association planned to purchase a luxury mansion in the Dallas area last year for the use of chief executive Wayne LaPierre,” the Washington Post reports.
“The discussions about the roughly $6 million purchase, which was not completed, are now under scrutiny by New York investigators. The transaction was slated to be made through a corporate entity that received a wire of tens of thousands of dollars from the NRA in 2018.”
Conservative PAC Raised $10 Million – And Kept It
“After recruiting thousands of donors for the American Conservative Union — the powerful organization behind the annual CPAC conference — a Republican political operative pushed the same contributors to give millions to a PAC that promised to go after then-President Barack Obama, but then steered much of their donations to himself and his partners,” ProPublica reports.
“The PAC, called the Conservative Majority Fund, has raised nearly $10 million since mid-2012 and continues to solicit funds to this day, primarily from thousands of steadfast contributors to conservative causes, many of them senior citizens. But it has made just $48,400 in political contributions to candidates and committees.”
Protesters Glue Themselves to Capitol Entrances
Sixteen protesters from the climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion glued themselves to underground shuttle entrances in the U.S. Capitol.
Washington Post: “A group of activists had used Gorilla Glue to fasten their hands to the doorjambs of a tunnel connecting the Capitol to the House office buildings, according to a participant who declined to give his full name. About 15 other people were helping.”
Chamber of Commerce Still Shut Out
Wall Street Journal: “A month before his inauguration, and shortly after he had finished a round of golf with Tiger Woods, Donald Trump was introduced to an adviser of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce… Stanton Anderson stood in the clubhouse of Mr. Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., and extended his hand to the president-elect. Mr. Trump refused it.”
Said Trump: “You guys did everything to stop me. I haven’t forgotten.”
“In the two years since, relations between Mr. Trump and Washington’s biggest lobbying organization haven’t much improved.”
Sanders Slams Liberal Think Tank
“Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a rare and forceful rebuke by a presidential candidate of an influential party ally, has accused a liberal think tank of undermining Democrats’ chances of taking back the White House in 2020 by ‘using its resources to smear’ him and other contenders pushing progressive policies,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Sanders’s criticism of the Center for American Progress… reflects a simmering ideological battle within the Democratic Party and threatens to reopen wounds from the 2016 primary between him and Hillary Clinton’s allies. The letter airs criticisms shared among his supporters: That the think tank, which has close ties to Mrs. Clinton and the Democratic Party establishment, is beholden to corporate donors and has worked to quash a leftward shift in the party led partly by Mr. Sanders.”
Bannon Teams with Wealthy Chinese Critic
Steve Bannon “is teaming up with one of the Chinese government’s fiercest critics on a $100 million effort to investigate what they view as abuses of power by President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui … said he would provide the funding for the so-called ‘Rule of Law Fund’ to investigate deaths and disappearances of Chinese executives, politicians and other public figures. Mr. Bannon said he would volunteer to serve as the fund’s chairman and oversee its operations, which he said would include hiring a professional staff.”
Environmental Groups Plan Big Campaign Spending
The League of Conservation Voters plans to spend a record-breaking $60 million helping Democrats win congressional and state legislative seats, the Washington Post reports.
“Other environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Defense Fund, also say they plan to invest even more money during this campaign cycle than they did in 2016. Trump’s victory in 2016, along with his administration’s subsequent attempts to roll back numerous environmental rules, have fueled a fundraising surge that environmental groups hope will help them put a check on the president by electing Democratic majorities in Congress.”
Bezos Makes First Major Political Donation
“Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife are making their first major foray into politics with a $10 million contribution to a super PAC that aims to elect military veterans to Congress,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Honor Fund PAC is backing 33 House candidates now running—19 Democrats and 14 Republicans. It does “no screening for ideology,” but rather seeks out a “common bond of service and commitment to the country.”
Bannon Forms Group to Defend Trump
Steve Brannon “is forming a group to try to sell voters on a midterm message that they should support Republicans to defend the Trump agenda and save the president from impeachment,” the New York Times reports.
“The group, Citizens of the American Republic, is Mr. Bannon’s new vehicle after he was pushed out of the White House last summer and then parted ways with the conservative website Breitbart.”
“Mr. Bannon declined to describe his donors or how much money the group has raised. One person close to the group said that Rebekah Mercer, the hedge fund billionaire who supported Mr. Bannon’s previous political efforts but broke ties with him months ago, has no role.”
The ACLU Wants Its Members to Vote
“The American Civil Liberties Union is launching a new electoral program to mobilize its 1.8 million members to vote as a bloc — a sign of how the group, flush with cash from the election of Donald Trump, is increasingly turning itself into a political engine of the resistance,” BuzzFeed News reports.
“If the new ACLU reminds you of the National Rifle Association, that’s not an accident.”
Ryan-Linked Group Raised $24.6M from Anonymous Donor
American Action Network, the nonprofit group closely aligned with Speaker Paul Ryan, raised a record $41.9 million amid the GOP push to repeal Obamacare and restructure the tax code — more than half of which came from one anonymous donor, Politico reports.
Bannon Plots His Comeback
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon told GQ about his plans to launch a new political group sometime this spring or this summer.
Said Bannon: “In the modern digital age—and David Axelrod saw this very early on, and we a little bit copied it—there’s three things that are important: It’s authenticity of candidate. The one thing the Internet has done is blown through phonies. Number two is the importance of actionable ideas. Obama had a series of actionable ideas. Donald Trump had a series of actionable ideas. It’s the reason my office was called the war room. Number three is—and this is also an Obama and Trump characteristic — a volunteer army of dedicated people.”
He added: “We know from the studies, the most powerful thing in a digital world — in an isolated world, in a fractured world — is somebody ringing a doorbell and coming up to you and telling you from their heart about a candidate. The most powerful thing to this women’s movement is not Oprah Winfrey. The most powerful thing is a million people in the streets on a Saturday. That’s power.”
Romney Pleads for Help for Puerto Rico
Mitt Romney made a plea to lawmakers to “put aside controversies” and “prioritize rescue” efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean last week, The Hill reports.
He said the American territory is on the “brink of a humanitarian disaster.”
DeMint Will Try to Organize a Convention of States
Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC),” ousted last month as head of the Heritage Foundation think tank, is joining a fast-growing, conservative movement that is pushing states to seek a constitutional convention to rein in federal spending and power,” USA Today reports.
“DeMint, a prominent figure among the Tea Party activists who helped Republicans seize control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, will serve as a senior adviser to the Convention of the States Project, providing a jolt to its efforts to marshal grassroots support for a state-led movement to amend the U.S. Constitution.”
Jonathan Swan: “A large and growing number of conservatives — the Convention of States project boasts more than 2.2 million supporters throughout the country — are concluding that the election of Donald Trump will do little to change the permanent bureaucracy in Washington.”
Contacting Your Lawmakers Works
A recent Congressional Management Foundation study finds that direct constituent interactions “have more influence on lawmakers’ decisions than other advocacy strategies.”
“The same study notes that 79% of the Congressional staff surveyed believe that personal stories from constituents related to a bill or issue are helpful in shaping their opinions on issues. Personal, local, and direct constituent grassroots advocacy contact towards members of Congress and staff have been proven to be effective time and time again.”
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